Reef project wins Green Ribbon environmental protection award

From left, Mary Bennett, Bill Hamilton, Karen Pratt, Bruce Boyd and Anne-Marie Broughton were at Parliament on Thursday night as Project Reef Life received a Green Ribbon Award.

Project Reef Life has won a Green Ribbon award.

The project, which captures the coastal life off Patea, beat three other finalists to win the coast and oceans category at a prize-giving in Wellington on Wednesday night.

The awards, run by the Ministry for the Environment, are for individuals and groups protecting and managing the New Zealand environment.

Te Kaahui o Rauru nominated the project.

Project Reef Life aims to determine what makes the sub-tidal reefs off South Taranaki unique and raise awareness of the life there.

Joint project lead Bruce Boyd said the win was very exciting for the people behind it and good reward for the work they had done.

The project received funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment but much of the work had been done voluntarily.

"We were presented the award by [Whanganui MP] Chester Borrows which was nice," Mr Boyd said.

"Chester's been very enthusiastic about this project."

Students from Hawera High School and Patea Area School, who have been involved in the project along with the project team, have been invited by Mr Borrows to attended an education and science select committee meeting at Parliament in June.

The information collected by the project group as part of Project Reef Life was presented at the hearing of the Environmental Protection Authority considering the application by transtasman Resources to mine iron sand off Patea earlier this year.